W. TuckerLos Angeles, CA

Artist’s Statement

The pieces are expressed in two layers: the materials that I paint on, and what is painted on this surface. Both of these elements are integral to the work.

The work is composed on wood panels or on found materials that may include old tabletops, cabinet doors, and pieces of scrap wood and metal.

What is then placed on these backgrounds is unplanned. The drawings, markings, painted strokes and scribbles are created predominately with my non-dominant hand. The use of my left hand allows me to draw in an unpracticed manner, and often rescues me from over thinking the work.

I am inspired by those things in our environment that have become worn or distressed by nature or human intervention – such as the billboard that has been partially stripped away or a metal utility phone box plastered with paper. These visual encounters remind me of the nature, beauty and simplicity of the process of aging, the process of change.

In a subtle way, my work mirrors these steps - building and stripping away - engaging in and allowing a process of change to be a part of the work.